Scientists find average penis size is 5.6 inches when erect

Let’s face it, male or female, the topic of “penis size” is a common discussion whether at the bar or having a girl’s night. So what is the real average size of a fully erect male penis? Scientists have confirmed that the average male penis is 5.6 inches when erect.

The Huffington Post reports that a survey published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine confirmed prior reports that the average size of an erect penis is 5.6 inches (14.2 cm).

Debbie Herbenick, a researcher at Indiana University, along with her fellow colleagues obtained the data by asking 1,661 men to measure their penis’s length either by themselves or with a friend for the purposes of condom fitting. The group then submitted their findings online which was then handed over to Live Science.

A majority of the larger reported erections came after receiving oral sex, while the smaller erections came from fantasizing. “We don't know if that means that when men have oral sex that it's more arousing and they get a bigger erection, or means that men who have bigger penises could be getting more oral sex in the first place,” Herbenick tells Live Science.

According to Herbenick’s findings, the smallest penis studied was 1.5 inches and the largest measuring at 10.2 inches. The average measured girth came in at 4.8 inches.